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Merry Christmas Eve! For me, this will mark the 3rd day of Christmas celebrations. On Saturday night, my parents, brother, Eric and I celebrated together by exchanging gifts and watching White Christmas and last night we celebrated with my Grandma, aunt, uncle and cousins. And because for us, Christmas is a week long celebration rather than just 1 day, we will be getting together again tonight with some more of the Berendt side of the family. And finally, on Christmas Day we will be celebrating with Eric’s side of the family. Whew! Even typing that makes me tired! But a marathon of Christmas celebrations is just how I like it. But today I have some downtime and am happily spending it in the kitchen. I was asked to bring some cookies to Eric’s family Christmas, so I have spent the day dusting my tiny kitchen in sugar and flour. I decided to bring a batch of my favorite Sugar Cake Cookies and a batch of this new creation. A few years back I worked at the cutest little bakery named Just Delicious. One of my favorite treats from Just Delicious was their White Chocolate Raspberry Crumble Bars. But as per usual, I thought I would switch this classic recipe up a bit. Rather than raspberry preserves I used some Michigan Cherry Jam. I also substitute the white chocolate for semi sweet chocolate as I am a huge fan of the dark chocolate and cherry combination. However, if you prefer the white chocolate raspberry combo, feel free to make your own substitutions. Well, it is almost time for me to get ready for phase three of Christmas 2013, so I will leave you with my Christmas wish for you. May your year be filled with sugar, butter, and all things sweet. Merry Merry Christmas!

Ingredients: Makes 12 bars

2 1/4 cups flour

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 sticks butter, softened

1 egg

1 cup Cherry Jam

1/2 cup chocolate chips, divided

Preparation:

In a large bowl, combine first 5 ingredients (flour through salt)

Add softened butter and egg into flour mixture and beat with an electric mixture until mixture resembles coarse crumbs

Take 2 cups of the crumb mixture and place in a separate bowl, set aside

As you all may know, I’m all about sweets. Cookies, cupcakes, candy…if it counts as dessert I’m bound to be a huge fan. But it is dense, chocolatey brownies that would really be my weakness. But seeing as I would prefer not to abandon my usually healthy lifestyle, I don’t often make my favorite dessert due to their not so healthy stats. But then I discovered the following recipes. Dark chocolate brownies that satisfy even the most devoted chocoholic’s sweet tooth…without costing you hundreds of calories. These brownies are not only low in fat and calories, but they are also gluten free. A win-win…win. So what is the secret? A rather unusual ingredient that is most often found in burritos. Black beans. But before you roll your eyes and write off this recipe as some crazy health trend, I beg you to just try these babies out. The result is an incredibly moist brownie studded with gooey melted chocolate chips. I even fooled one of my favorite dessert snobs into falling in love with this recipe before I revealed the secret ingredient. And they could not be easier to prepare. Throw all the ingredients in a blender and bake. And just like that you are only 30 minutes away from one of the most decadently healthy desserts out there.

Ingredients: Makes 16 brownies

1 can black beans, rinsed & drained

3 eggs

3 tablespoons canola oil

1/4 Cup Cocoa Powder

1 tsp. Baking Powder

1 tsp. Vanilla

3/4 Cup Sugar

1/2 Cup Dark Chocolate Chips

Preparation:

Place black beans in a fine sieve and rinse well, draining excess water

As I mentioned once before, I met Eric on Halloween three years ago. But the funny thing about our first meeting is that I had actually heard of this elusive “Eric” character quite a few times before. But all the stories I heard about my now boyfriend weren’t just “Eric” stories…they were always “Eric and Tom” stories. At the time, I didn’t know either of these boys, but I did know that they were best friends. Any stories told by the mutual friends Eric and I shared prior to our meeting often involved Eric and Tom. So when I finally did meet Eric that Halloween night, he was decked out in a flight suit, channeling Top Gun’s “Goose.” And even though Tom wasn’t there that night, it made total sense that he was at another Halloween party, dressed as Maverick. Together or apart, these boys were quite the pair.

And a few months later, it was Tom who nudged Eric along in asking me out. And although Tom gave Eric some decent advice, Eric didn’t exactly follow it. I heard later on that their conversation went a bit like this: “Whatever you do, Eric, don’t just ask her to be your girlfriend. Be more casual. We aren’t in middle school.” Fast forward two days and Eric was ever so awkwardly asking me “If I wanted a boyfriend…namely him.” Well, Tom, at least you tried.

I’m pretty thankful for Tom not only for pushing Eric along, but also for letting me share his best friend. And Tom’s a pretty hilarious guy to be around, so that’s pretty cool as well. So when I heard he was coming back into town for a few days, I decided “welcome home” baked goods were a necessity. Because baked goods are pretty much always a necessity in my book. When deciding what to make, I figured brownies would probably be a safe bet. But rather than typical fudge brownies, I decided to up the ante with a few more decadent ingredients. This recipe is incredibly easy, as it starts with a packaged brownie mix. And with the addition of crushed pretzals & caramel topping, it’s safe to say they will be devoured quickly. Boy and best friend approved.